Our Orthopaedic Surgery residents benefit from a wealth of adult and pediatric orthopaedic experiences under the guidance and teaching of our faculty.
Together, we provide ample opportunities for primary responsibility of patient management and our active clinic service gives our residents broad exposure to orthopaedic care for both children and adults – hand, foot, fractures, orthopaedic trauma, joint reconstruction, spine, sports medicine, multiple congenital anomalies, myelodysplasia and scoliosis.
PGY-1 Schedule
Our first-year residents receive training that provides a solid foundation in a broad range of basic medical disciplines for the four years of approved training that will follow.
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 6 | Orthopaedic Surgery |
| 1 | Acute Care Surgery |
| 1 | Anesthesiology |
| 1 | General Surgery |
| 1 | Research/Basic Science |
| 1 | Pediatric Surgery |
| 1 | Neurological Surgery |
| 1 | Trauma Surgery |
PGY-2 Schedule
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Consults Day |
| 3 | Consults Night |
| 2-3 | Foot and Ankle |
| 2 | Hand and Upper Extremity |
| 2-3 | Pediatric Othopaedics |
| 2 | Research |
PGY-3 Schedule
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 2 | Adult and Pediatric Spine |
| 1 | Consults Day |
| 1-2 | Consults Night |
| 2-3 | Major Joint Reconstruction |
| 2 | Oncology (Away Rotation) |
| 2 | Pediatric Orthopaedics |
| 2-3 | Sports |
PGY-4 Schedule
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | Adult and Pediatric Spine |
| 2 | Foot and Ankle |
| 2-3 | Hand and Upper Extremity |
| 2-3 | Major Joint Reconstruction |
| 2 | Orthopaedic Trauma |
| 2 | Sports |
PGY-5 Schedule
| Blocks | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 2 | Advanced Orthopaedics |
| 6-7 | Orthopaedic Trauma |
| 2-3 | Pediatric Orthopaedics |
| 2 | Upper Extremity |
Our residents receive training at Ascension Borgess Hospital and Bronson Methodist Hospital and gain exposure to a variety of orthopaedics during each rotation in complementary experiences that reflect each hospital's strengths.
Ascension Borgess Hospital has a Level II Trauma Center and offers strong exposure in joint reconstruction, sports medicine, and foot surgery. Bronson Methodist Hospital has a Level I Trauma Center, an orthopaedic hand surgery group, and a large pediatric unit, including neonatal intensive care on campus, so rotations there are especially strong in trauma, hand surgery, and pediatric orthopaedics. Given the variety and volume of clinical material, approximately 30 percent of operative cases are performed without resident attendance, despite a large individual resident experience.
Rotations in the following sub-specialties at both hospitals:
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Rotation in the following sub-specialty at Bronson:
- Pediatric Orthopaedics
- Large Pediatric Unit (PICU)
- Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU)
- Spine
We are also pleased to provide in partnership with Medical College of Wisconsin an orthopaedic oncology rotation at Children’s Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee in the second half of the PGY-3 year.
Our curriculum is designed for experience in orthopaedic surgery sub-specialties as both a junior and a senior resident. Rotations are scheduled to provide you experience in pre-operative, operative, and post-operative management of patients in the hospitals and clinics, and continuity of patient care throughout each 8-week rotation.
- Dedicated Research Rotations
Our curriculum includes a dedicated 4-week rotation in basic science and research in your PGY-1 year, and a dedicated 8-week research rotation in the second half of your PGY-2 year. Our research curriculum includes principles of research design, methodology, biostatistics and analysis, and the ethical principles of clinical and translational research. Our faculty provide research mentorship with a wide variety of interests in the discipline, and also collaborate with faculty in other departments and programs. You will have the opportunity to work directly with our department faculty PhDs in biomedical engineering with the Biomedical and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at WMed, and biomechanical engineering with the Western Michigan University College of Engineering and Applied Science.
- Research Presentations
Most resident projects are presented at the annual Kalamazoo Community Medical and Health Sciences Research Day, which is the annual research day hosted by Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed). Many resident projects are also presented at other prestigious regional and national venues, and are published in peer-reviewed journals. Our residents have presented at the Michigan Orthopaedic Society Annual Scientific Meeting, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting, the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Annual Meeting, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting. WMed offers travel awards to apply toward expenses for presenting original research at regional and national conferences.
Didactics Annual Schedule
- Weekly
- Faculty Clinical Lecture
- Monday
- Two-year recurring curriculum (select here for list of topics)
- OITE Review
- Thursday April – November
- Resident led
- Additional sessions hosted by faculty in their sub-specialty
- Anatomy lab
- Thursday January – March (with exception of Bioskills)
- Organized by our PGY-3 residents
- Clinical conference
- Thursday
- Topics include X-ray Indications, Business of Medicine, Leadership, Diversity
- Faculty Clinical Lecture
- Monthly
- Journal Club
- 4th Monday
- Organized by our PGY-4 residents
- Typically review 6 articles per month
- Article topics for discussion include clinical considerations, business of medicine, leadership, diversity and wellness topics
- Morbidity & Mortality/M&M
- 2nd Thursday
- Combined Ascension Borgess and Bronson review of cases
- Grand Rounds
- 1st Thursday
- Each Chief Resident gives one Grand Rounds
- Regional and national experts present Grand Rounds six times during the year
- Bioskills Lab
- Variable schedule
- Variable schedule
- MRI Conference
- 2nd Thursday
- Journal Club
- Annually
- E. Dennis Lyne Visiting Professor
- Half day conference April/May
- National expert in orthopaedic surgery
- PGY-4 residents present their research thesis
- Curtis Hanson Alumni Day
- Half day conference September
- In conjunction with Western Michigan University Broncos home football game
- AO Techniques Workshop for junior residents, sponsored by DePuy Synthes Trauma/Johnson & Johnson
- Full day of lectures and hands-on technique training held on Western Michigan University campus
- E. Dennis Lyne Visiting Professor
Extracurricular Conferences
Our curriculum supports attendance at extracurricular regional and national conferences for each PGY year with financial support provided.
- PGY-1
AO Techniques Workshop (see Annual Conferences above)
- PGY-2
Michigan Orthopaedic Society Annual Orthopaedic Trauma Program
- PGY-3
Michigan Orthopaedic Society Annual Fall Education Program
- PGY-4
- Leadership focused conferences (one resident to each conference, determined by program director)
- AAOS Resident Assembly (serve as our program delegate to national assembly at AAOS annual meeting)
- AOA Resident Leadership Forum (AOA national meeting)
- Feagin Leadership Forum (Duke University)
- Leadership focused conferences (one resident to each conference, determined by program director)
- PGY-5
AAOS Annual Meeting
In addition, WMed supports optional attendance at an extracurricular conference of your choice during your PGY-2 through PGY-5 years
- Attendance funded by annual professional development allowance
- Dedicated professional development time off separate from vacation time